 These element brothers and sisters in Islam, I would like to greet you with the greetings of Islam. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Of course tonight is, you know, we're almost finishing up, finishing up the month of Muharram episode 23 of hashtag LNT. Of course, I haven't said this in a while, of course, with the one and only Ahmed Ali. Now tonight, black on black, I've been wearing that since the beginning of Muharram. But tonight is a very special topic. Tonight, we're talking about how different man and woman be and, you know, what's imposed on the woman. But sometimes it's imposed on the men as well. To what degree we're going to have to find out. But after we go check out what's trending, I'll come back to you guys very short. Welcome everyone joining us tonight. Now, a horrible limo crash took place in New York, killing 20 people. I'll just say that it's the worst transport tragedy in over a decade. Now the driver of the modified limo that crashed in update, in upstate New York, Andrew Como, the governor of that time, he says did not have the appropriate driver's license to be operating that vehicle. So as you can see right there, he also said that the vehicle, which was a SUV modified into a limo was inspected by the New York State Department of Transportation last month and failed inspection. It failed inspection and was not supposed to be on the road, yet he probably went and got it off, you know, the next, some next level mechanic who gave him, who passed him the inspection, which, you know, all Middle Eastern do hope he wasn't Middle Eastern though. But that's it for what's trending, let's go jump into tonight's topic. Once again, I do welcome everyone joining us tonight. Now you know, the two genders of mankind, you know, the male and the female, at least I hope those are the two genders out there, you know, I hope there's no third gender. Well now in Google, they give you three choices, it's either you're male, female, or maybe, I don't know, maybe what, or other, sorry, other, maybe, maybe I don't know, it's others, not maybe, but you know, they're similar in many ways. I mean, God has created the female body to be, you know, to be, you know, different, different than mine, absolutely different than mine, you know, and show a lot different than IJASM's body and Salamence's body, I hope, you know, I hope they're different than IJASM's body. But I think you guys all mean, you get what I'm trying to say right now, so we'll just leave it at that. But since there's a major difference in shape, there has to be a difference in how each gender presents themselves. Let's say, you know, you go to the gym for those, my friends who go to Canada, or whatever, you know, whatever, just in the West, UK, US, Canada, you go to the gym, it's okay, it's, you know, you see a shirtless young man lifting weights, you know, with a six-pack, you know, it's okay, you see that, but you never see a shirtless woman, topless woman, nothing on top, you know, lifting dumbbells, and just, you know, doing a couple of reps, you never see that. Why? Because if she do that, if she does that, then one, she'll get arrested for public nudity, with the exception of a few countries, but she will also be a victim of sexual harassment. Now obviously, a woman doesn't have to be naked to be sexually harassed, she can also be covered, and still get sexually harassed, as we can see in the news, but it goes to say that how much we cover, or how much they cover their body has an impact, and absolutely it does. Now, you might ask why the double standards. Well we have to go back to when I said God has created the two sexes differently. Now when he did, when Allah swt, God did create the two sexes differently, he also imposed a type of covering for a woman, aka hijab, but what exactly is hijab, and more importantly, what is the proper hijab? That's why tonight on hashtag LNT, Ali Jassim asks you guys, what is hijab? What is the hijab? Very simple question, Ali Jassim wants to know, he doesn't know the answer, but that's why he's begging me right now, telling me to tell you guys, to pick up the phones, and dial the number shown right there, plus 964774 0671836, and let us know what you think about tonight's question. What is the hijab? What is hijab? Ali Jassim, do you know what hijab means? No? Alright. Mustafa? Nothing? Alright, let's take a quick break and come back to you guys very short. Once again, we do welcome everyone joining us tonight. Now, before the break, we present the question that's right there at the bottom. It's a four word question. What is the hijab? If someone comes up to you right now, you Muslim lady, and of course Ali Jassim, if there's a girl someone's going to come and ask, but you know, if someone comes up to the ladies right now while wearing hijab, and he asks, or she asks, what is that thing you're wearing on your head? If you say hijab, then they're going to just be confused. If you say a head scarf, well duh, it is a head scarf, but you've got to explain what it is. You've got to tell people what hijab is. So the same way you answer that person, you pick up the phone and answer us tonight live from the Holy City of Karbala, hashtag LNC episode 23. Now the question for tonight, what is the hijab? The number to call in at via WhatsApp to all free is plus nine six four seven seven four zero six seven eighteen thirty six, and let us know what you think about tonight's question. We're also live on Facebook, so you guys can go check us out. But let's go way back in history. Like we're talking about the origin of hijab, and if you think it's an after hijab or the prophet, then think again, we're going way back. Now sources mention that the first record recorded instance of veiling or something that covers the head and body dates back to the Assyrian legal texts from the 13th century BCE. Now it was restricted to noble women. That means that slaves and poor women were forbidden to wear any head covering. Now in both ancient empires of Greece and Rome, there's an evidence and many evidences that point to the fact of various degrees of head coverings worn by females. Now practically in Rome, particularly in Rome, it seemed that head coverings were associated with prayer and devotion. So that's why they explained it that poor and slaves can't wear because they're not devout. They're slaves of someone else. Only those noble women can get to wear the hijabs. While many Muslims think that the term, or what they call hijab an Islamic thing, the fact is it's not actually an Islamic. It's not only for Muslims, but we can't call it purely Islamic. That's what we need to do. Now interesting, the Bible, the verses found in the Bible in which Christians refer to when they talk about head coverings when they're praying to God or when they're in the church is mentioned from Saint Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. Now Corinthians 11 verses 5 says, and I quote, every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. This is in Corinthians 11 verse 5. Now the early Christians, the early Christian women veiled their heads in church and anytime they were in public and Christian women continued to maintain, as you can see right there, continued to maintain this practice to some degree throughout the centuries until the 19th or 20th century when the practice was rapidly declined. Now a student, or if you ask any student of the Jewish tradition, would you know that head covering for Jewish women is encouraged by rabbis and religious leaders? If you can ask anyone. Now religious Jewish women still cover their heads most of the time even up until today, especially in the synagogues at weddings or religious events. You still see them. You know, it's like the convertible Hajab sisters. When they're listening to the Quran, the Hajab comes up, and it's gathering the Hajab comes down. So it's like the convertible Hajab. But anyways, the Jewish tradition is a culture, not a religious one. Hajab was observed by women of the civilizations that preceded the Jews and passed down to the Jewish culture. It was way before Islam, way before Christianity, and way before Judaism. Some Christians or some Christian women cover their heads on many religious occasions while nuns cover their heads 24-7 or at least when they're in public all the time. Now traditions of covering the heads dates back to thousands of years before Muslims or before Muslim scholars actually came forward and claimed Hajab to be an Islamic thing or Islamic dress code. Now to throw this out there, Hajab is not only for women. For those who think that Hajab is for women, it's for men as well. You know, for me, I just can't go outside not wearing, you know, I have to wear shorts of course, but I can't like walk around shirtless. It's not Haram, but there are specific manners in where an individual should be presented in public. The Hajab of the man is mainly is gazing down his eyes. Hajab Al Ain, you, what does Hajab mean? Let's try and break this down. Hajab is a veil. When you put a veil between something, you can't see the other side. So when a woman puts this veil on her head, first she's honoring herself. And second, she's concealing that beauty, so to speak, from anyone out there that is not Mahram to her. The same with men, Hajab with men. You need to conceal that six pack because, you know, ladies right now, they'd be falling for men that have six pack. Although, you know, we can't say that, but it's reality. That's what's happening out there. I just said he has an eight pack. So, you know, I don't believe that. But, you know, but as I'm saying, men also have a type of Hajab, a veil between his eyes and the Haram. That's what you need to keep in mind, but we'll continue after the short break. Second, we do welcome everyone joining us tonight. Now, before the break, we were talking about Hajab and trying to explain it and how and, you know, way back how it dates. You know, it dates back to ancient, you know, in the Assyrian Old Text and it goes back to the ancient Rome and Greek. Now, we also got to the man, the men's Hajab. So, up to now, we can get, we can sort of get an idea of what Hajab is. And we can also understand that Hajab is not or it is an Islamic dress code, but it's not exclusive for Islam. Other religions also possess this within their religions as well. Now, wearing the Hajab for women isn't just a matter of simply putting on a piece of cloth on the head. We see a lot of women right now who, even if they're not Muslim, you know, they just throw a scarf on their head and, you know, misunderstanding a lot of people. This portion, this dress code, Hajab, is misunderstood by a lot. What a lot of people think is that just by wearing the Hajab, everything below the Hajab is OK, not to show, of course, but, you know, to wear whatever, Hajab is not just covering the head. Hajab is covering the heart from any sin or from from any act that may lead to sin right now. And I'm going to be frank with everyone. Maybe someone, some people are going to get upset. If you were to go out, you know, maybe not in Iraq, but if you were to go out in the West and it's solely coming into Iraq and Karbala specifically, if you were to go on the West and you see a woman, the guys, what do they look at first? If she's wearing tight clothes, they're going to look at her and her. So they're going to check that woman out. A Hajab is supposed to keep that beauty away from the eyes of random men, men that don't that are not related to her, either her husband or her family members, not including the cousins. So Mahrams, a.k.a. Mahrams. So this is what we need to understand. That Hajab is not only trying to cover up the head and the rest of the body is OK. The Hajab is a way of behaving and accepting yourself for who you are, not for, you know, or not being someone that someone else wants you to be. You know, basically it continues or it constitutes as an Islamic way of life. It's a statement which indeed should portray a certain attitude for a person to wear hijab automatically. You represent Islam right away. If you're walking down a street, random street, even if they know something minimum about Islam, as soon as someone wearing a hijab walks down that street, they're going to say, what, she's a Muslim. So the way you present yourself, the way you behave in public and in private as well, private, we don't care, but, you know, in public, in public, you need to present yourself in a way where people look at you and say, wow, Islam or that person embodies Islam in a way where she's not letting other men look at her, you know, her beauty, so to speak. And at the same time, she has the manners with everyone. You know, right now we see hijabi rappers. We see hijabi athletes, and that's perfect, you know, hijabi athletes, that's perfect. And of course, they're covered. But to go down to hijabi rappers, I mean, do you really understand what you're putting on your head? I'm not here to criticize. I'm not here to judge. But at the same time, when you take a responsibility, you have to be accountable for that responsibility if you mistreat it. You know, if someone, for example, buys an animal and he mistreats that animal, animal rights will come and, you know, they'll persecute that person either legally or they will take that animal away. The same thing. We're not here to take away your hijab. Absolutely not. Who am I to do that? But at the same time, when you're wearing that hijab, and misunderstanding the religion of Islam, taking Islam into your own hands, putting new laws into Islam like rapping, which I don't know where it does say. I never heard one of the poets to the Imam's rap. So I don't know where you get the rapping from. But at the same time, we have to keep in mind that hijab is a way of behavior, how you present yourself to everyone as a true Muslim. So the whole for the most part, everyone is aware of what hijab is right now. It's even in dictionaries right now. If you go to Oxford Dictionary, if you go to any dictionary dot com in your hijab, it's recognized as a term right now where people can actually get to learn about. But for the last few years, the hijab or hijab has been somewhat associated with fashion and with the different colors, different styles and so on and so forth. The different types of raps and that's OK. When you're wearing something, do wear it in a presentable manner where you're not crossing the boundaries of Islam, as I mentioned earlier. Now nowadays in the West, the boundaries of Islamic clothing have become blurred over with over the past few decades due to the controversial ideology of modest hijab fashion input into our daily lives. You know, you see those famous Instagram personalities who wear the hijab, but sometimes they wear it in a way. And at the same time, you as well, when you put a picture of yourself on Facebook or on Instagram, there's nothing wrong with that. But at the same time, you're a role model for the younger generation. When they want to look at you, they want to look at you in a way where they say, you know what, that's who I want to be. If you're wearing the incorrect hijab, you're not only sinning, the incorrect hijab, you're not only sinning, but at the same time, when others take you as a role model, their sin is on your back as well. Now, as I mentioned, we're not here to judge, but there are laws that a person ghost has to abide by. Now, at the same time, if we were to look at the Holy Qur'an, we would find Allah SWT mentioning in chapter 33 verses 59, he says, oh prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves of their outer garments. This is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused and ever is Allah forgiving and merciful. Now, we don't really, how do I explain this? A lot of people, when they read this kind of verse, they think that, oh wow, Allah SWT is telling Prophet Muhammad to tell his wives to wear the proper hijab, weren't they wearing proper hijabs? They're the Prophet's wives. They were, but Allah SWT talks to the Prophet in a way where he wants others, he wants others to hear. When I, for example, if I want to send a message to someone, right now, if I want to send a message to you guys, I would direct it publicly, or if I want to send a message, for example, if one of the sisters at a party, Islamic party, of course, she's not wearing the proper hijab. If I sit there and talk to my wife or talk to my sister who was ever there about the proper hijab, my family might be wearing the proper hijab, but I want to send a message to that person listening to us. But we just received a voice message from Betul from the USA. Wow, long time. Alright, what does Betul say? Peace be upon you, brother Ahmad. Peace be upon you, too. Betul from the US. So tonight's question is, what is hijab? And I can actually answer it normally and say it's a head covering, but I thought about it for a couple of minutes, and I came to the conclusion that hijab is not just a covering of the hair and the body, but hijab is everything. There are many forms of hijab, and I'm going to name them, giving them my own names, okay? We have the brain hijab and the tongue hijab. We need to cover our thoughts and what we say, to think of good things and not bad things, to not speak about people, to not use foul language, etc. Then we have the eye hijab. We need an eye hijab to protect our eyes from what we see, and we get pulled into this all the time. Oh, look, she's pretty, he's hot, etc. It gets us to do and see other bad things as well. Hijab is not just a head covering, it's actually a structure of our life to get us to be on the right path. Thank you. Yes, Betul, thank you very much from the USA for sharing that with us. Yes, actually very true, because honestly it does go back to the person wearing the hijab. A lot of people sometimes misunderstand the hijab and not the person wearing it. So it's a bit controversial where you explain it. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. Now, Imam Sadaq, what does he say about hijab? He says modesty is a part of Iman. Hijab is a great example of modesty. That's what we need to understand. When a person is modest, when a lady is modest, she's known that she's modest with her hijab. Of course, at the same time, there are modest women out there who don't wear the hijab, all due respect to you guys. We highly adore you guys, but at the same time, our message goes out to the Muslim ladies, to our sisters. At the same time, as Betul said, modesty, modesty is not about covering your head, and not also covering your whole body and then the inside is rotten, God forbid. We have to always keep in mind that if we're trying to cover up, let's try to, you know, better the way that we talk to people, be nicer to people, and so on and so forth. Now, what is the proper hijab? To sum it up, we have a few points for you here. Number one, not to be rousing. This is important. Number two, not too tight to be showing the shape of the body. And absolutely true. Number three, not see-through or thin material. If you're wearing see-through or thin material, I don't know why you're wearing hijab, but I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. Number four, must be covering the entire body except for the face and hands. Number five, the hijab should not be an adornment in itself. What do we mean by that? We're not meaning don't go wearing a nice hijab or a Louis Vuitton hijab. If you can afford it, buy it, but at the same time, don't make it into an extra decoration. When you have a ring on the hand, it's a sort of an adornment. Don't make the hijab like the ring you put on your hand. Wear it like you mean it. Wear it like you own it. You own that hijab. Or you do own it technically, financially. Financially, you do own it. But what I mean, wear it like you own it. I hope you know what I'm saying. But lastly for tonight, the only message that we can give out is do keep your hijabs on, of course. But at the same time, think of the ways how we can take examples or take lessons from the people of the Ahl-e-Bayt, A.S. Now, within these few nights of Muharram and entering the month of Safar, the month of Sorrow, we think of one lady when it comes to hijab. We think of Lady Zaynab, peace and blessings be upon her. To the point where Zaynab, with all her greatness, so to speak, and whatever I'm going to say, nothing compared to who Zaynab is. Zaynab, the daughter of Ali Nabi Talib, to the point where Imam Ali, when he used to walk and Zaynab was with them, Imam Ali would be in front. Hassan and Hussein would be on her sides and Al-Abbas would be on the back. So even random men, and they would leave at night, random men won't even see her shadow. That's the modesty of Zaynab. And that's her requesting from her father, not her father demanding. This is why a lot of people hate the hijab nowadays because parents are demanding that their daughters wear hijab. They're forcing hijab on their daughters. That's why a lot of girls right now are hating hijab. Be like Zaynab, get to understand, teach your children hijab from a young age and help them accept it. Don't force it on them. When you tell someone from a young age that fire is hot, he's going to know that fire is hot. And if you teach someone from a young age, if you teach a young girl from a young age, you tell her that hijab is a way of life for you and a bright future for you, then they'll get to, you know, that will sink in. And then when it's time for them to wear the hijab, they're fully prepared for it. So let's learn from the hijab of Zaynab. We're not saying that don't go out and, you know, let your brothers walk on the side and your other brother walk in the back so men don't see your shadow. We're not saying that. No one can get to the status of Zaynab. But what we're trying to say is wear hijab in a manner where when other people see you, they're going to say that's a true Muslim and follower of Ahlul Bayt Peace and Blessings be upon him. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. Do stay tuned for the upcoming episodes. Wassalamu Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.